That's not who you are
by SallyCarefree
Summary: Neal is a criminal. That's what Peter believes and what he told him. Now there's a new handler, but Neal is still Neal, i.e. trouble is involved. Peter will have to come to his senses, right a wrong and save his friend from a fatal situation before this story will end. Now complete. Really. No joke.
1. Chapter 1

While Peter Burke was driving home, he tried to relax. Usually, he loved his job at the FBI, the days packed with investigations, searching for traces and undercover operations. Even more, he was good at it, more than good actually. His clearance rate was unmistakable evidence for this.

His days were long, starting early in the morning, and more often than not he was the one switching out the office lights in the evening. But when he drove home, finally crossing Brooklyn Bridge, he used to feel at ease, looking forward to a comfy evening with his wife.

Only recently, he was stressed out at the end of an office day. This was irritating since he had finally gotten the long overdue promotion. Indeed, he should rather be enjoying his success. The new job was exciting, lots of new tasks, plus he liked the bigger office. Therefore, he couldn't make any sense of this strain.

Peter fiddled around impatiently with the controls in his shiny new BMW. This car was a bit too refined for his like. He preferred his cars more robust and easier to handle. Anyhow, he would never be able to make use of its entire horsepower in New York. Neal on the other hand, would have loved to check out each and every button, knob and lever. Probably he would have messed up the setup of lighting as well as the radio within seconds while at the same time begging his handler to let him drive the car.

Peter sighed. Who would have thought that he would miss the unnerving company of this CI some day?

Pulling up the driveway, he slapped on a smile and entered the house to greet his wife cheerfully. El didn't let herself be fooled by the fake smile. Her husband has never been a good actor and hardly able to hide anything from her. But she knew he needed time to come to terms with himself. No one would make him confiding his concerns or feelings before he was ready, not even his wife.

During dinner they were chitchatting, talking about everything and anything. Clearing the table, El asked, "Why don't you ask Neal to come over one of these days? I haven't seen him for a while."

Peter coughed slightly. "Ahm, he's rather busy at the moment. You know, helping out June, late night stakeouts, not to forget entertaining Mozzie. Maybe the week after next or so." El gave him a sympathetic smile and dropped the subject.

Peter had asked the ex-con a couple of times to join him for a drink or a homemade meal. Neal had declined the invitations and expressed his regrets. Unfortunately, the consultant had made prior arrangements to accompany June to a social festivity or offered to fill in for a stakeout. Something or other had always prevented a meeting in the evening.

Caffrey's expression hadn't given away anything. No accusations had been made. He hadn't pouted or acted offish. Quite the contrary, he had seemed affable and actually sorry to put down the invite. Still, agent Burke has known him long enough to recognize sham sympathy.

The blue eyes were like a wall of steel, providing no insight to any real feelings.

"You're a criminal. You're a criminal. You're a criminal. You're a criminal. You're a criminal." Peter had uttered these words the evening he had told him about the new handler and the change of their arrangement.

Like a broken record, he has heard them nonstop in his mind for weeks, like ringing in the ears. He hasn't been able to repress the memory of his own harsh words. But he couldn't take them back. Ultimately, that statement hasn't been wrong, in the literal sense of the words. Therefore, there was no reason to blame himself for speaking the truth. That's it.

The next morning, Peter discussed an open case with some agents of the White Collar division. While sipping his coffee and listening to the case report, he has been watching Jones, Diana, Neal and the new handler in the conference room.

Frankly, he had expected some tension between Caffrey and the new guy. Taking Neal's lax discipline along with Seigel's obsession with rules into account, this was hardly a harmonic lineup. Peter had figured the consultant would be complaining and cajoling him to appoint Diana or Jones as his handler, trying to get rid of the new agent.

But he had been wrong. Quite obviously, both men were getting on well together. The consultant hadn't challenged this handler so far, even observed the rules most of the times. Furthermore, Agent Seigel seemed to appreciate Caffrey's ideas and insight as valuable input. Right now, they were deep in conversation, files, photos and paper strewn on the table.

At first, the only thing Peter felt was a sudden pang of jealousy. This was ridiculous, of course, for so many reasons. First of all, he was glad that Neal got along so well with his new handler. And seriously, why should he feel jealous. He hasn't been dumped, and they have been work-mates, not soul-mates.

Neal checked his mobile phone casually every other minute. If one didn't know him as good as Agent Burke did, one wouldn't have spotted the slight anxiety in his behavior. But Peter sensed that the young man was waiting for something, a call or a message which was not related to their current case. The ASAC knew his former consultant far too good, and therefore, had every reason to be alarmed.

Right after lunch, he met Neal at the water cooler and got straight to the point. "Neal, is everything alright? I noticed you were a bit nervous."

The CI feigned surprise. "Why, I'm fine, absolutely. Everything is in apple-pie order. June's birthday is next Tuesday, and I'm planning a surprise for her. That has deflected my attention a bit. I'm sorry if this has affected my performance negatively. It won't happen again. You don't have to worry."

An apologetic smile on his face, he started to retreat. But the senior agent blocked his way. "Neal, I need to know if you're in trouble or scheme a con. I know you and I know what I've seen. There's something going on."

Neal remained cool and firm. "Sorry to disagree, Peter, but you don't know me that good. Nothing's going on. Now, if you're done interrogating me, I'd have to go back to work. That's why you keep me around." Flashing an oversized smile, he returned to his desk.

Once there was initial suspicion, Peter has started to notice other indications. Neal slipped out of the office twice that afternoon. The tracker showed him standing in front of the FBI building. It can be assumed that he needed some privacy for a phone call.

A closer look at the tracking data of the past week revealed that Caffrey had walked around the city a lot. His paths had led him to a private auction house. He had explored the place thoroughly, walking up and down the streets in every direction, spending hours in an adjacent coffee shop.

After a restless night, Peter sat in the kitchen, eating breakfast, reading the daily paper. "I knew it, I just knew it." He chucked the paper on the table and jumped to his feet. El asked what was wrong, failing to see why her husband was so furious. He needed some moments compose himself.

"Look here. There's an auction of rare and extremely expensive jewels, property of a South African mine owner. They will be on display all week. The auction is scheduled next Monday. That's the very same auction house Caffrey was observing all week. The auctioneer is expecting to obtain record prices for the pieces. Those gems are second to none in size and flawlessness. Without a shadow of a doubt, Neal is going to rob those stones. You bet!"

Burke told his wife about the observations he had made as well as the conclusion he had drawn. "He's a criminal. I told you so! He was behind that gold coin heist, and I don't know how many other crimes. I'm going to arrest him."

El stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? You know pretty well that the proximity of time between that heist and the sudden turn in your trial is probably not a coincidence. Whatever he has done, or is about to do, was quite likely done to protect you. I almost begged him to do something to free you, by whatever means."

However, Peter refused to give in. If he would accept the truth in his wife's words, that would be ... unbearable.

"No, no El, you're wrong. I know him better. He has fooled us for years; it's just a long-time con for him. Now, he's about to cash up his investments. But I'm going to bring him down first."

Elizabeth grabbed his arm and turned him around, forcing her husband to look into her eyes. "Stop this. That's not who you are. You've never let a friend down. You would regret this for the rest of your life."

As an afterthought, she added with a soft voice, "_the rest of our life._"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Author's Note:  
**

First of all, thanks for reading.

You might have guessed already that episode 5x01 has inspired this story. I didn't like El's part of accusing Neal being selfish and asking favors at the same time. And even though, I see the need to rebuild the mistrust between Peter and Neal to build up suspense for the show, I suffer.

So, I decided to fix this dilemma on my own! Of course, Neal will be hurt along the way and Peter has to proove his friendship.

Reviews are welcome :-)


	2. Chapter 2

Fortunately, the trip from Brooklyn to Downtown Manhattan took as long as usual. Thanks to traffic jams, red lights and obviously suicidal pedestrians the ride took 45 minutes like almost every morning.

Enough time for Peter to reflect about Elizabeth's words. _That's not who you are._

Somehow, he knew she was right. The unanswered question was ... who was he actually?

A long way back, he had just been the archeologist. A lot has happened since then, changed him. Who would have expected Agent Burke to cover up for a criminal, fly across half the globe to find and protect named criminal, or deceive the FBI authorities to clear the name of a corrupt cop? Only to find out named cop was dirty, culminating in his own imprisonment, being falsely accused of murdering a senator.

He had let his wife down. She hasn't deserved to be married to a failure who was risking his job regularly for a criminal. That was not what he had promised her on their wedding day. She needed stability and security, not only financially but also emotionally wise.

Caffrey on the other hand, relied on him, even trusted him – as far as he might be able to trust anyone at all. Burke remembered talking to his wife once. _Neal doesn't lie to me. He hides the truth, he withholds it, but he... doesn't lie to me. And if he is, there's got to be a reason for it._

Peter would never go high and dry on a friend. Though, as a federal agent, he would never become friends with a convicted criminal either. So what went wrong, yet even more important, what was the right thing to do now?

The question wasn't answered when Burke arrived at the FBI. So he decided to go back to the basics. Being the archeologist, he had commanded the skill of gathering facts and analyzed them to come up with the solution of any problem. That's what he would do now, bringing the archeologist back to work.

When Neal's desk was still deserted at 9 am, he asked Seigel about the consultant's whereabouts.

"He called in sick. Must have eaten bad clams. The poor guy really sounded awful. I guess we will have to cope without him for a couple of days." The handler didn't seem worried, just feeling a bit sorry for his suffering charge.

This can't be good. Neal wasn't sick, but probably at home or wandering around, preparing the next crime. No doubt, there was no time to waste in collecting information.

He summoned Agent Barrigan to his office and asked her to shut the door. "Diana, since you're confined to desk work, I hope you might be able to help me out. I need some research to be done. It's pretty urgent. We don't have any time too loose. "

Diana was bored stiff with all the cold case files she had been working on and eager for something more meaningful. "Sure, boss. Fill me in with the details. If we need more manpower, I could ask our new probies."

Burke fidgeted on his chair, obviously ill at ease. "I want this research to be kept off the books. At least for the moment. It's possible that we have to involve other FBI resources later on. But for now, I want this between you and me."

This sounded a bit strange to the younger agent, yet she nodded, waiting for further instructions. She trusted her boss unconditionally and wouldn't question his orders.

"I have a list of phone numbers for you. I need information about any activity on these numbers, starting the day I got arrested. I want text message, phone call details as well as missed calls. Anything you can come up with."

After Burke had passed the list to the pregnant agent, she stared at it in disbelieve. "Boss, this is Caffrey's regular mobile phone, the others are his burner phones and June's landline. What's going on?"

Her boss chuckled. "You've even kept track of Neal's burner phones while I was locked away. Good work. As for your question, I don't know for certain. But I'm afraid Caffrey is tangled up into something illegal, and I need proof – even more important, I need to know for what reason reason. Will it be any problem for you to get the data without attracting any attention?"

Diana sighed frustrated. "Not at all. People stopped taking notice of me. I'm just the agent with a baby bump sitting in front of a computer. They all take it for granted that I'm not burdened with any exciting work. Just as if I were demented, not pregnant!"

Peter reassured her that he knew what she was capable of, and one day soon she would be able to go back to field work. The team needed her expertise very much, so she was only temporarily excluded from those investigations.

When Peter had been locked up awaiting his trial, Diana had watched how Caffrey struggled to cope with the situation. He had blamed himself and came up with increasingly desperate ideas how to free him. Shortly before the trial started he had stopped chewing her ear up with his crazy plans.

But thinking back, she realized he hadn't actually eased up. Even after Peter's discharge he seemed nervous and withdrawn at times. Even though, he has tried to cheer her up. Considering his experience at being confined to a federal building, he offered her coaching to adjust to the new situation.

Diana hoped that the consultant hasn't gotten into any trouble. She cringed at the implications for him. However, even if he was a cheeky bastard at times, she was convinced he wouldn't let Peter down. Therefore, the best way to help him was to find out the information needed and sort things out.

Meanwhile, Peter checked Neal's tracking data every 30 minutes. The consultant seemed to be at home, pacing through the small apartment and the roof-top terrace. That was both good news as well as bad news all in one.

Caffrey being still at home meant he was not at the auction house. Therefore, he was not actually committing the projected crime. On top of this, moving GPS data were more reassuring than these stock-still data on the day of the coin heist.

On the other hand, if he actually would have had an upset stomach, he would have stayed in bed or been in the bathroom but not walking around. Logical conclusion was he had needed an excuse to skip the office day. That didn't bode well.

Diana came back with news only a couple of hours after she had started the research. She seemed quite agitated when she entered the office.

"Boss, I guess I found something. There was a text message sent to Neal's phone instructing a time and place to meet. Sender was a burner phone which went out of service shortly after."

Burke wasn't impressed. "That was probably Mozzie. You know him; he's using burner phones all the time. I guess, he won't even use the same phone twice to order pizza."

"No, this is different. I checked the meeting details. It's a municipal building. They do have a fantastic Chagall over there. I've seen it once. It's a huge, very impressive piece of art. During the week the meeting was scheduled, restoration work was done to the painting. No-one else but Curtis Hagen was sent over to do the restoration as part of a work program for prisoners. Something like earn your keep and serve the society. So it's not unlikely that this was Hagen's phone."

Now, Peter was stunned. "Curtis Hagen? The Dutchman? I don't get this. Why would Neal meet with him? They can't be on friendly terms. Not after Caffrey's creative contribution to Hagen's arrest."

Diana had no explanation either and shook her head. "I can't answer that yet. But I'm going to dig into it. Let's see if I can find out something more. If he really met with Hagen, there must be a very pressing need." She left to continue her research checking out more background information.

Peter was left alone with his thoughts. Neal has helped to take down the Dutchman. It has been their first joint action. The FBI wouldn't have solved the crime at all without Caffrey's help. It has been the start of a very successful partnership.

Apart from closing the case, Peter had taken to actually like the convicted criminal. He had already admired his cleverness when he was chasing him. But working together with him was different. Caffrey was creative, bold and intelligent. To name only a few of his characteristics. Albeit, Burke had sensed that there was more hidden under the con man mask. There was a hurt and forlornness beneath the handsome exterior. Somehow, this had aroused his protective instinct.

Ever since then, he had tried to keep the CI out of trouble. Until recently. The ASAC was still somewhat perplexed when Seigel knocked at his door late in the afternoon.

"Peter, I'm sorry to interrupt. Do you have a moment? I've got a tip-off from a street contact. I need your advice at this."

The ASAC concentrated on the task at hand. "Sure, come in. What can I do for you?"

The younger agent looked uncomfortable. "Apparantly, there is a heist due to take place tonight at an auction house. Supposedly, it's a contract job to steal some very expensive gems. They will be shipped in seafood containers out of the country. Everything is planned very skillfully." Hearing this, Peter cringed but tried hard not to give away his shock. Only, Seigel wasn't finished yet with his report.

"Now, I would set up a stakeout to observe the building. Probably, two teams watching both sides of the building. So far, business as usual. However, I was informed that it will be someone called Nick Halden who is about to carry out the job. And as far as I'm informed Nick Halden is just another name for Neal Caffrey.

I'm wondering if Neal might be involved in some FBI undercover operation, something I'm not informed about due to security precautions or other restrictions. Because if he's not, I'm going to catch him in the act and take him down. You seem to be friends with him. I don't want to interfere with any of your operations. I need your instructions, Sir."

Peter took a moment to think this over, but he didn't really have an option. "I can assure you that he is not working in an FBI undercover operation right now. Apart from that, we were partners, not friends." Wow, has he just heard 30 pieces of silver rattling in his pocket? At least, it felt as if he has just betrayed a friend.

Seigel asked to reconfirm. "So you give your approval to arrest him?"

Agent Burke nodded. "If you catch him in the act, you will have to arrest him." And Neal would rot in prison for good. May justice prevail. Oh my god, how he hated the thought of sending the consultant back to prison. He felt sick.

After Seigel has left, Peter was thinking about his alternatives. He could warn Neal. Or he could go over to Neal's house and stay there for the evening using any lame excuse to prevent the younger man to leave the house and commit the crime. Or maybe, he would do what was expected from an FBI ASAC and help to take Neal down.

Peter couldn't make up his mind. Was he still willing to redraw the lines for Caffrey to make him stay within them?

He was lost in thoughts when Diana came up with new information.

"Boss, this is getting more and more confusing by the minute. I checked the calls which were made with Hagen's burner phone. Before he has sent the message to Neal, there were several calls made to a phone number registered to Andy Crawick. I checked the FBI databases for that name, but it didn't come up with a criminal."

"So we've got nothing?"

"Well I expanded the search and didn't look only for criminals. Finally, our database did come up with something. Though, it's not really the sort of information I had expected."

Diana fell silent. Peter could see that she was shaken by the information she had found. His curiosity was stirred up, and he urged her to continue.

"Andy Crawick is an undercover alias used by an FBI agent multiple times. The alias is not active anymore, but it hasn't been burnt and is still intact. The agent's name who used this alias on several occasions is David Seigel. What's going on? I don't get this."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Author's Note:  
**

Thanky you all for your reviews. It's great to get such a great response.

As you see, I made up my mind that the new handler is not so nice. Since I don't own White Collar, or have any insights to future episodes, this is no spoiler but just a product of my imagination.


	3. Chapter 3

"Andy Crawick is an undercover alias used by an FBI agent multiple times. The alias is not active anymore, but it hasn't been burnt and is still intact. The agent's name who used this alias on several occasions is David Seigel. What's going on? I don't get this."

Peter needed a couple of seconds to process the information. David Seigel and Curtis Hagen.

Why? For What? What connection was there between those two? How could he have missed that so far?

However, these questions lost their importance at once when Peter started to think about the implications for Neal. The agent was shocked.

Apparently, Diana has had the same concerns and voiced her worries. "Boss, is Seigel setting Neal up? I've never figured him playing a double game on us... Is Caffrey in trouble?"

Burke sighed. "I don't know yet. Maybe, there is a valid reason for Seigel to play Hagen. It might be an undercover operation; thus the recent events are sheer coincidence."

Agent Barrigan starred at him blankly. "You can't be serious! Since when do you believe in coincidence faced with so many suspicious facts? Remember, you told me coincidence is the word we use when we can't see the levers and pulleys."

He gave up pretending easy confidence. "I know, I know. This can't be good. I'll have to see to it that Caffrey won't be the fall guy in some shrewd intrigue. Even worse, I'm afraid there's not much time left because Neal's about to put his head in the noose right now."

Peter checked the GPS tracking data again. The signal was still coming from the apartment at Riverside Drive. Only, there has been absolutely no movement for the last 20 minutes. That was ominous and definitely not any help to ease his anxiety.

Sure enough, so far Burke has lacked too many details to connect the dots. Yet he understood there was no time left to waste on collecting more information meticulously. It was a safe bet Caffrey wasn't completely innocent in the matter - but whatever wrong he did it was likely done for a good reason. Time to move on from archeologist to friend.

The younger man was frustrating, driving him crazy on his best days. But the agent did know that the ex-criminal had a good heart and a set of principles that hadn't been there six years ago when he had been just another case file that got dropped on his desk.

Agent Burke grabbed his jacket and phone, heading for the door. Diana joined him. "I'll come with you."

Her boss smiled at her apologetically. "I don't think so! We need more background information about Seigel's connection with the Dutchman. Neal's only chance to get off scot-free is by presenting strong evidence that he was set up. Please don't let me down. You're the only one over here I could trust to complete the research."

Which was indeed correct. Furthermore, he wouldn't put her life or health at risk, being eight months pregnant and all. He felt responsible for her well-being. Therefore, he would take care of here and keep her off the heat as long as necessary. Still he didn't want to make her feel less of an agent. That's why he kept these thoughts to himself.

Peter tried to warn Neal, calling his mobile, three times in a row. To no avail. Damn it, Neal. _Answer the frigging phone!_

Next, he called June, but she didn't respond either. So Burke called his wife. "El? I know you're in a business meeting in Upper West. Sorry to bother you. I need someone to go over to Neal's right now finding out if he's sitting motionless in his kitchen. It's only a stone's throw away from your meeting ..."

After telling her about the emergency situation, she promised to drop everything and hurry up. The FBI agent himself was already on his way to the auction house.

Meanwhile, Neal has left the taxi three blocks away from his target. He strolled towards the auction house, wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. His rucksack contained high end burglar's tools as well as welding equipment but looked from the outside like a student's book bag.

The con man didn't attract any notice. On the other hand, nothing slipped his attention. He watched out for anything unusual. However, he hasn't spotted any potential danger so far.

Neal focused on the crime at hand. Probably, this job would be a piece of cake. Walking into the building, finding his way down to the lower basement, then wait until after business hours, open the vault, lift the jewels and disappear through the back door into the night. Quick and easy.

Nothing to worry about. Only, his instincts told him something was off. Caffrey suspected that there was more in that heist than met the eye. He has had a bad feeling about this job long before Peter had tried to call him three times. Although, he had muted the phone the missed calls bothered him.

He couldn't talk to the agent right now. Not with all this background noises when his tracking data showed him still in his apartment. The suit was no idiot. Neal might tell him later on that he had been lost in contemplation over a painting. Maybe Burke wouldn't buy that story either, but he wouldn't be able to prove his doubts.

Caffrey checked his phone again only to find a text message from his former handler. ANSWER THE PHONE. URGENT.

The conman cursed. For crying out loud. Peter hasn't cared a fig for him lately. Why now?

He had to complete the job, simple as that. Hagen had promised it would be the last one. Neal hasn't made up his mind yet whether the Dutchman would keep his side of the bargain. Still it was worth a try. He was so sick and tired of these jobs, regularly breaking Peter's trust, risking his own freedom, for what? Being at Hagen's beck and call has led him so far only to taking stupid, insane hazards.

Caffrey sighed trying to shake off his worries. First things first. He would finish this last and final job, afterwards call Peter. Probably, the FBI agent was just in a dither because _The Criminal_ has called in burning to bite his head off.

There were no problems at all to pass the main entrance and enter the lobby. Neal mingled with the crowd of visitors drifting towards the restricted area.

The door leading to the basement was locked. You needed to swipe an employee's card, next type in a pass code to open the door. Thanks to Mozzie's spadework the conman came well prepared with card plus key combination.

It took him only seconds to open the door and find his way downstairs. The basement was like a labyrinth. One could lose orientation easily. But Neal had the layout plan on his phone, so there was no danger that he would get lost.

Checking his phone, he saw a new message from Peter. IT'S A TRAP. DON'T GO IN.

God, how much he hated these messages in all caps. And he hated the fact even more that the bars on his mobile displayed there was no signal strength at all. No way to find out what Peter was talking about.

Could the agent actually have found out about his schemes? Rhetorical question. The suit was smart. But there was no trap. Yet even if there were a trap, how could Burke have known about it - even Mozz hasn't overheard any rumors.

Then again, maybe the message was the trap and the suit has sent it to lure him out. Or maybe this whole Dutchman-situation was driving him on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It wasn't his usual self to be so confused and unable to think straight.

After a moment's hesitation, Neal decided to stick to his original plan. Accordingly, he loaded the basement layout. Get it over and done with as quickly as possible.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Author's Note:  
**

Thank you all for your reviews.

I was quite overwhelmed by episode 5x03. In a good way, of course. These White Collar writers are so awesome. I just wished I had a fraction of their talent.

Now, I feel a bit bad about making Seigel such a bad guy in my story. But still, I've decided to go through with my initial story line.


	4. Chapter 4

"Neal? Hey, I know you're in there. I'm coming in."

The addressed culprit flinched. _This agent had some kind of crime radar_, Caffrey thought. _He always called or dropped in when you were in the middle of something you just knew he'd consider wrong. Or at least risky. Or, like most of the times, both. _

Neal slumped to the floor, tools already in hands and wearing his welding goggles. Game over – even though he hasn't started yet to open the safe locker. He should have known better. It was just not possible to fool Burke for long. It's been only a matter of time until he got caught. Now, he was done in.

The FBI agent stuck his head in the door. He hesitated a moment spotting the CI on the floor before he heaved a sigh and walked over. "Hey", he said again, sitting down next to the picture of misery. "Need rescuing?"

Caffrey smiled with a grim sense of humor. "No, thanks. I'm just dressed up for a fancy-dress party. But I guess I'm going to miss the fun."

He removed the goggles revealing eyes void of hope. "I'm sorry. I've let you down. Again. Afraid I'm beyond rescuing."

Against all odds, Peter wasn't willing yet to give up on him. "Not so fast, tell me the full story. Why have you tried to steal these gems? What's your business with Hagen? And last but not least, why is my wife alone in your apartment when according to your GPS you're sitting right there at your kitchen table?"

Just then and there, feeling relief to unburden his conscience in combination with desperation regarding the expectableexpecting the consequences, Neal confided his troubles. He didn't omit any discriminating detail, explaining the con he had run to free Peter, the coin heist, messing around with evidence, even the latest crimes the FBI agent hasn't had the vaguest notion of.

Peter was truly shocked to learn the full extent of Neal's accompliceship. He had already guessed that the consultant was entangled in criminal activities. Only, he has had no idea that Caffrey was in it up to his eyebrows. One well-meant, although very foolish, mischief had consequently led to the next, even more foolish and more serious mischief to cover up.

"Neal, it might have taken a while to clear my name without bribing someone or producing forged evidence. But I'm sure the truth would have come out. Since I haven't killed Pratt, I would have stood trial to prove my innocence." Burke was almost a hundred percent convinced that he spoke the truth. Still, with the murder weapon and gunshot residue at his hands, he had been utterly relieved when the voice message had turned up putting him in the clear. It couldn't be denied that the bare possibility of a wrongful conviction had existed.

Finally, Neal's confession was complete. "You see, it has been my father's fault that you were sent to jail, and he wasn't exactly about to put things right. So, I had to come up with something to protect you. Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

The FBI agent sighed wearily. "Is this an endless loop? How many times have I told you that lying to me is never protecting me! Joining forces with Curtis Hagen is dealing with the devil. He is a criminal. Most certainly, you must have known that he won't volunteer to free the agent who had arrested him in the first place out of genuine philanthropy?"

The consultant flared up. "Yeah, he is a criminal. So am I. What of it?"

Peter eventually began to understand. "Very well, that's what it's all about. I called you a criminal. I'm sorry if I have hurt you. I'm not good at these things, you know, elaborating on human relations. It's true enough, I do have mixed feelings about our ... relationship."

He wriggled like an eel. Neal couldn't help smiling while watching how uncomfortable this conversation made his former handler.

Still, the older man was aware he had to explain his motifs. "I have noticed that... you're in my life ... at my house, with my wife, in my office. However, you are a criminal. I hate to say that I can't even call you ex-criminal, considering the fact that we're sitting in a vault without authorization right now. You have a very strange notion about what's right and wrong. To me, it's either right _or_ wrong, a clear-cut issue. Plus, I believe in law and order. I really do. As a federal agent, it's my responsibility to keep you on the straight and narrow. Though, I feel too far gone to do this unbiased any more."

Named criminal nodded silently. "All right, Agent Burke. Then, it's plain and simple. You've caught me red-handed. Go ahead, take the necessary, uncompromising action. Arrest me! I've just stopped to count the score. What is it? 4:0?"

Named agent gazed at him. "Don't be stupid. I've tried to teach you first of all about values and rules. But if you make a mistake, I don't want you to rot in prison. Most of the times, you're intentions have been good. I haven't given up hope yet that you might learn from your mistakes. Even more, I have to admit that you do good deeds as well, actually lots of it. Therefore, no, I'm not going to arrest you."

Neal felt reassured. Still, he teased the FBI agent. "So, this is not only about your extraordinarily high closure rate thanks to my assistance?"

Peter gave him a wry look but didn't comment on the remark.

So the (not really) ex-criminal went on, speaking in a soft voice. "There must be a limit to the mistakes one person can make. At some time or another, when I get to the end of them, I'll be through with 'em. Don't you think?"

Burke nodded with a glimmer of hope. "That's a very comforting thought. I'd love to see that day..."

Attempting to redefine the status of their relationship Caffrey came back to an old issue of dispute. "So where are we now? Trust and verify? Or in the absence of trust, at least faith?"

Surprisingly, the agent heaved a sigh. "We'll need a bit of pixie dust as add-on."

Neal's confusion was obvious. "Pixie dust? You're nuts?"

Peter chuckled, quoting J.M. Barrie. "No, _Peter Pan. All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust._ Pixie dust, miracle, magic spell whatever is at hand will do. If you would have answered my phone calls earlier on, or read my text messages, you knew that this job is a trap. You were framed. For now, I'm afraid there's no way out, for either of us."

"Who has framed me? The Dutchman?"

"Probably, Hagen has framed you, too. Although, I was talking about your current handler. Seigel has joined forces with Hagen. He has set up a stake out to catch you in the act. Two teams will be waiting for you when you're going to leave the building. I don't want to withhold the fact that I have authorized the stake out. Of course, that was before I learned about the connection between you, the Dutchman and Seigel. I still have no clue about the reason behind all this."

The consultant needed a couple of moments to digest the information. "Wow, I haven't seen this coming. Mozzie warned me a couple of times that Seigel might be a new breed of human mutant robots, developed by the government, on a test mission in the field. Maybe, I should've taken heed of his warning. Nevertheless, this isn't your fault. You don't have to take the blame. Now go!"

Peter gave him a pat on the shoulder. "No way. I didn't have a choice when you created false evidences to get me out of jail. So I couldn't opt in or out. But I know what's happening now. And I'm choosing to stay with you. We're in this together."

After a short while, Neal's survival instincts kicked in. "Come on, let's get out of here. I might be a criminal. But at least, I'm a good one. I'm not walking into a crime recklessly without an escape plan. We should disappear from the scene before it's getting crowded."

Both men left the vault climbing upstairs to the ground floor. Instead of heading to the lobby, Neal led them through narrow corridors into the private area ignoring all the "_Staff Only_" signs along the way. Finally, they've reached a fire exit. After Caffrey has disabled the alarm, he hit the push bar. Only, the door didn't open as expected. He tried again and again, but to no effect.

"I don't understand this. It's an emergency exit. It has to open. Mozzie has tested it himself. Now, it seems to be blocked. I don't know why." Neal reached for his phone to check if his friend has sent an update or any further information.

Although, he had received a message it was not from Mozzie. After reading the message, he showed it to Peter. "I guess you were right assuming that Hagen has set me up..."

The agent read the message. "_I remember you've taken a liking to locked doors. Even though, this is no inch thick Lexan glass I thought you'd appreciate the effort._"

"What a sick bastard." Just as he has passed the mobile back to its owner, they heard shouts from outside "FBI. Drop your weapons and come out."

Burke knew his former partner long enough to read his face. Therefore, he wasn't fooled by the stoic look but saw the younger man was scared. Fear has never been a good advisor. If Caffrey would lose his head, that could be dangerous to deal with.

"Neal, no reason to panic! Technically, we're just in the staff quarters. You haven't stolen the gem stones. I'm here with you to back you up. Seigel can't arrest you. We'll just go out there to sort things out. Let's do it the right way. We're not Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid confronting the Bolivian Army. I'm the ASAC accompanied by my consultant, out there is the FBI. There's no need to worry."

The CI was obviously reluctant to turn around and walk straight up to a team of armed federal agents. But he masked his concerns with a flippant comment. "_Sorry Butch, for a moment there I thought we were in trouble_."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Author's Note:  
**

Before I forget to mention: the last line is a quote from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I don't own anything. Neither from that movie nor from White Collar. This is to my constant regret, but most probably won't come as a surprise to you...

Thank you for your reviews (and all those silent readers, too). Love to see the feedback.

Next chapter will have quite a bit of whump. It's possible that I have to change the rating. We'll see. As for now, my story is fanfiction, not the screenplay of future episodes. Until recently, I thought there is no need to mention this. Some messages made me change my mind.


	5. Chapter 5

/*** Warning: Blood, injury and hurt in this chapter. Someone will die, but it's not Neal. If you're too young or sensitive for this, or simply don't like it: Stop here ***/

Peter was singing out of tune, with hushed voice, short of breath. Repeating the refrain over and over.

_ Another one bites the dust  
Another one bites the dust  
Another one bites the dust  
There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man and bring him to the ground  
You can beat him you can cheat him  
You can treat him bad and leave him when he's down_

He pushed hard and fast in the center of Neal's chest to the beat of that old song. Pressing down about 2 inches with both hands directly over the breastbone to perform a compression. He knew the song's fast rhythm was roughly the recommended 103 beats per minute.

Peter's hands were covered in blood, his own blood as well as Neal's blood. Caffrey lay on the floor, eyes wide open, showing no vital signs.

Another FBI agent has placed her hand on the unconscious man's forehead and two fingers on his chin tilting the head back to open the airway.

When Burke paused the CPR, he switched to a begging tone. "Come on, Neal, don't do this to me. I still own you for the next two years. I won't allow you die on me. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe."

Then, he continued the cardiac massage. _Another one bites the dust...  
_  
After an eternity of 4:37 minutes during another pause, Neal suddenly drew a breath. His eyelids fluttered. The agent felt for a pulse. It was weak and arrhythmic, but it was there.

Just then, they heard siren noise announcing the arrival of the rescue team. A couple of moments later, the paramedics turned up taking charge immediately with professional care.

Peter stepped back to sit down, finally giving in to his own meltdown. He was completely spent. Leaning against a wall, he was wondering how things could have gone south so fast.

"Sir?"

Neal has been carried into the ambulance where the professional emergency team was working frantically to save his life. They've rushed with wailing siren and flashing lights to the hospital.

Burke gazed at his hands. He couldn't make any sense of all the red fluid on his fingers and palms.

He watched a clutter of fussy FBI agents bustling around an unmoving male body on the opposite side of the room. Someone from the medical team filled out a form, but unlike the team around Neal had done no busy resuscitation attempts were made. He couldn't identify the man sprawled over the floor.

"Sir! Can you hear me?"

El wouldn't be amused. There was a hole in his suit, his new suit. The same suit they had bought together only 3 weeks ago. She would kill him. And all that red liquid, sticky with a metallic smell, staining the woolen fabric didn't improve things.

The stranger's voice became more urgent. "Sir, you were shot. We need to treat your wounds."

The ASAC shook his head in disbelief. "He wasn't carrying. Neal doesn't like guns. I told him there's no need to worry. I told him."

The paramedic called for help. "Steve, I need a hand here. Gunshot injury in the shoulder region. Injured person is unable to focus, with cold skin, fails to respond, probably he's in shock."

They lifted the bleeding man on a stretcher and carried him to another ambulance preparing him for the transport.

Agent Jones came over looking through the open door. "Will he be alright?"

The emergency doctor reassured him. "He was hit by a gun and is in shock. It's a through-and-through wound, lots of blood, but probably no permanent damage done. We'll take him to the hospital though."

Peter suddenly took notice of the other agent's presence. "Clinton, good to have you here! Seigel can't remain Neil's handler. In the long run, I will take over the job myself. But while I'm in hospital you'll be in charge. Make sure Seigel does not get his hands on him, and furthermore, Caffrey won't get into any trouble at the office or elsewhere."

Jones was caught off guard by his boss's unusual behavior. After hesitating for a while, he decided not to beat about the bush. "Seigel's dead. He won't handle anyone nevermore. If ... "

He fell silent for a couple of seconds before he corrected himself and went on. "… When Neal comes back to the Bureau, you'll be there to take care of him. Right now, he's well looked after."

All the way to the hospital, Burke turned one question over in his mind:

"What the hell has happened?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Author's Note:  
**

I came to realize that I will need a bit to wrap it up. Right now, I know what's going to happen. But so far, the story is a big messy hodgepodge inside my head.

Since I felt a bit bloody, I decided to start with a little whump, giving in to my violent streak.

So, please enjoy this short chapter while I work out the next – and probably last - chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Let's go back in time to establish a bit of clarity...

*** Early afternoon, somewhere in Queens ***

Curtis Hagen has reached the agreed meeting place early. The old factory has been out of use for almost a decade. It was completely deserted, just like all the other buildings around. Some stray cats have been his only company so far.

The criminal has been quite pleased with the run of the events so far. Caffrey had stolen all the items Crawick had requested. Today, Hagen would hand over three extremely valuable gem stones. This was the final delivery. Afterwards, Crawick would resource him with pots of money and, better yet, a perfect, brand-new identity issued by the FBI.

There would be no more need to disappear like his namesake, The Dutchman, every once in a while. He could travel around the world without being chased, enjoying the comforts of life.

The pleasant fact that Crawick had promised to frame Peter Burke, making sure the cunning agent would spend many years in prison, was a more than welcome bonus.

Hagen had no idea why Crawick needed all these stolen goods, but then again, he didn't care either. As long as the prize was right, he didn't ask unnecessary questions. For now, leaning against the wall of the run-down factory he soaked up the sun with a broad smile plastered on this face.

Crawick turned up at 3 pm sharp, obviously ill-humored, "Why have you summoned me to this deserted place at such short notice? We're running out of time. There is still one last job pending."

The criminal looked like a cat that swallowed the canary. "It's already done. I've lifted your gems earlier today. Caffrey will be surprised when he welds open the safe. Furthermore, I've blocked his escape route. All you have to do is lie in waiting and cuff him. He's all yours, just like a sitting duck. Remember, you told me you plan to take him off the game. So, I guess it's payday."

The FBI agent shook his hand in disbelief staring in turns at the gem stones the other man presented him proudly and the smug face.

He was far from pleased, but managed to control his feelings. "If I don't catch him having the stolen goods about him, that's not enough to put him away for good. I'll need to adjust my plans accordingly. Wait a second!"

Crawick went back to his car, put on some disposable gloves taking a bag out of the center console.

Hagen appreciated how cautiously the Federal agent acted. Understandably, his partner in crime didn't want to leave fingerprints on the money and passport. He preferred working with pros because of this forward looking planning.

After checking that no-one else was to be seen, Crawick opened the bag producing a gun. "Sorry, that wasn't the plan. But now, you've changed the general set-up, and on second thoughts, this is going to be even better than the original plan."

He shot the other man from a short distance right between the eyes without a moment's hesitation killing him outright.

The agent picked up the gems from the ground and returned the weapon into the bag. He left the scene without even looking back to the corpse on the ground.

*** Later on in Manhattan, inside the auction house, around the same time chapter 4 is ending ... ***

_"FBI. Drop your weapons and come out."_

"Neal, no reason to panic! Technically, we're just in the staff quarters. You haven't stolen the gem stones. I'm here with you to back you up. Seigel can't arrest you. We'll just go out there to sort things out. Let's do it the right way. We're not Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid confronting the Bolivian Army. I'm the ASAC accompanied by my consultant, out there is the FBI. There's no need to worry."

Seigel entered the hallway. He was on his own without another agent backing him up. He had asked the other agents to stay behind. As Caffrey's handler he wanted to persuade him to surrender, but that won't work with any bystanders.

Burke addressed him with caution. "David, we need to talk. This is not ..."

"Caffrey, lower your gun!" Seigel shouted loud enough so the FBI team waiting outside heard him.

Peter was annoyed about the theatrics. "He doesn't even carry a gun. Cut the crap!"

David Seigel had expected to find his consultant alone. Therefore, he was caught off guard needing a moment to adapt to the new conditions.

He had planned to kill Caffrey and take care of Burke later on. So far, he hadn't plotted the ASAC's death, just sending him to prison for an awful long time. But this was better still! He could kill two birds with one stone.

However, he had to make up his mind whom to shoot first...

If he'd aim for Caffrey first, there was a risk that Burke would draw his gun in defense. Then, he would have to act real fast to shoot both men.

On the other hand, if he'd fire at Burke first, he had to change guns beforehand. He couldn't shoot him with his duty weapon. Instead, he intended to reuse the gun that knocked off Hagen. The very gun he was going to plant in Caffrey's hand to get his fingerprints on the butt. Changing guns would take time. Time the other agent could use to draw his own weapon.

Fortunately, he won't have to put on the gloves first. His own fingerprints on the weapon shouldn't raise a problem. Understandably, he would have tried to wrench it from the culprit. Therefore, his prints would be on it.

Seigel weighed the pros and cons, which was a difficult task being pressed for time. That stupid mobile phone, ringing all the time, wasn't helping on. He was relieved when it finally went silent.

*** Same time, outside of the building ***

Jones was sitting in the van across the street. He led the second observation team and waited for the signal to go in. When Diana called him, he answered right away.

Without taking time for pleasantries, she came straight to the point "Jones! Is Peter with you? I called him, several times, but so far I haven't reached him. I need get hold of him, asap. It's important."

The agent was confused. "Peter, no why should he be here? We're at a stakeout in Upper East Side. There's a heist under way in an auction house. Unfortunately, Neal might be involved. David leads the operation. Right now, he went in alone to talk Caffrey out of it. Neal seems to have this effect on his handlers, winning them over with his flashing smile... Anyhow, Seigel wants to minimize the damage."

"No, no, I don't think so. He's probably there to finish Neil off! That's what I need to tell Peter. Senator Pratt was David's mentor, funded his education and smoothed his way into the FBI. Seigel has applied for the White Collar division in New York the week after Pratt was killed."

"Holy crap! How's Peter involved?"

Agent Barrigan reported the results of the research she had done upon Burke's request, concluding with the information about their boss who has left to protect Neal.

Jones had no idea about Seigel's actual plans, but without a shadow of doubt they were no good. Therefore, he and his team geared up to go in.

At the sound of gunshots, he stopped strapping the bullet-proof vest and hurried with his team out of the van towards the entrance.

Seigel has made up his mind. Killing Burke first, taking care of Caffrey afterwards was the action plan. After all, Burke was a trained agent. The most promising strategy was to get him out of the way right at the outset.

Furthermore, if the FBI team stormed in before he was done, he would claim that it had been Neal who had shot the agent. His words against those of a convicted criminal caught red-handed. It was a safe bet whom the feds and jury would believe...

Burke kept a wary eye on his opponent. He knew already about Seigel's connection to the Dutchman and assumed bad intentions. On top of this, there was a certain glint of madness in David's gaze which was utterly disturbing.

Seigel aimed for the heart, cocked the gun and pulled the trigger in a swift movement. The bullet hit Peter full force sweeping him off his feet crashing onto the marble floor with a thud.

Neal was stupefied with horror. "You're crazy. Why did you do this?"

He rushed towards his friend, checking for vital signs. In a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, he pressed his hands on the wound. Burke seemed not to be fatally injured, but was about to regain consciousness.

Seigel hasn't noticed that the ASAC was still alive and sneered at the CI leveling the gun. "Your father has killed mine. Agent Burke has assisted him. Now it's time to compensate my loss."

The information made no sense. Caffrey was confused. "My father? I have no clue what you're talking about."

The agent was annoyed at the lack of understanding the consultant had just demonstrated. "Your father, James Bennett, has killed my father, Senator Terence Pratt. Irony of fate, my father has never been able to acknowledge me officially as his child. Although, he took his role as father seriously.

Whereas your dad is officially listed as your father, but apart from his appearance in your birth certificate he wasn't really around in your life. Now I'm here with a gun to make things even."

He drew his weapon from the shoulder holster without further warnings, aimed and fired shot after shot until no bullet was left in the clip.

Evidently, Seigel was more than pleased. "I call it retributive justice. The victim's son kills the murderer's son."

He wasn't done yet admiring his work when Jones together with five agents stormed in. "Drop your gun, Seigel! Surrender yourself!"

Years of professional training helped Seigel to reload his weapons within seconds. "You must be kidding! Caffrey killed the ASAC. I've just tried to stop him."

Meanwhile, Peter has recovered consciousness. Now, he struggled to his feet. With Neal sprawled all over him, this proved to be difficult. His voice was shaky and hoarse. "He's lying. He killed him in cold blood."

Irritated by the interjection and surprised that the agent was still alive Seigel pointed his gun to finish the job.

Before he could pull the trigger, 6 agents fired at him. While passing out, he was wondering if this was how his father had felt when he had been killed. Like father like son were his very last thoughts.

Burke conquered his faintness beginning to revive the consultant whose blue eyes were blank and wide open.

He was on autopilot, rendering first aid. He remembered El reading to him a news article over breakfast about some studies. They claimed it helped to time a cardiac massage singing along to a pop tune. _Another one bites the dust... _

He was oblivious to the turmoil around him, just concentrating on the task at hand.

Neal felt light and strange. As if he were standing on the sidelines, audience to his own reality TV show. Peter was singing flat_. Another one bites the dust._ Embarrassing, very embarrassing. Agent Delany opened his airway by lifting the chin, carefully keeping head and neck aligned. Jones called the ambulance. Agent Peterson stating that Seigel was far beyond rescue.

He noticed the pool of blood beneath him, his blood. Red wasn't his color, even orange looked better on him.

No pain. No fear. No worries. He realized this was a near death experience. Shouldn't there be a time-lapse playback of his life? His father leaving him as a three year old kid, Ellen raising him, his first con, Kate dying, all those important moments in his life? Or at least a bright light or a white door?

He was ready to go. Where was this frigging door he had to cross to see the light? He could pick every door lock. They wouldn't be able to keep him out. He was so tired of this struggle and failure and disappointment some people called life.

If only Peter would stop nagging. The only thing Neal could think of was his former handler and friend.

_I still own you for the next two years._ Forget it! He was so sick of being FBI property.

_I won't allow you die on me_. Let me put it this way: There is but one god. According to the Bible, his name wasn't Peter Burke. Or her's, while we're at it. If he was meant to die, no FBI agent had the power to forbid it.

_Breathe. Breathe. Breathe_. Damn it. That agent would never leave him be. Never mind! He would con the man in the cheap suit pretending to be breathing. What a scam, Peter would never be able to tell he got tricked. It couldn't be so difficult to will his heart to beat, and his lungs to inhale. Neal congratulated himself on being such a mastermind.

The first shallow breath he drew brought back the pain but also the will to survive.

**Author's note:**

Sorry if I have confused you! Allthough, I have to admit I did it on purpose. I felt a bit bored by my own story :-)

Ridiculously enough, I thought in the beginning this would be a 2 or 3 chapter story. Now, I publish chapter 6 and it's even not the final one. Dear readers, thanks for keeping up.

Good news it, the last chapter will be the final one, and it's already written. At the moment, it's under review.


	7. Chapter 7

Diana had called Mozzie to break the bad news. She sympathized with the weird man who probably felt left out and desperate for information about his friend. Being condemned to the sidelines herself, the agent knew the sting of feeling utterly helpless. So, she told him the full story. Moreover, she answered his probing questions patiently.

Eventually, it was hard for Moz to gasp the enormity of what he had just heard. "Wait, wait, wait! Seigel has been Pratt's longtime minion, and joined forces with Hagen. Thereupon, Neal was framed by both of them. Your boss hasn't had a clue and courted disaster. Now, Neal's handler has shot him. Hence, my friend is in a dying condition. He can't die. It's not an option."

Mozzie was choked up, obviously unwilling to accept the bare possibility that his friend could be dying.

Diana tried to reassure him. "Listen, everything will turn out all right. He's in hospital where a team of medical specialists takes care of him right now. There's no need to worry."

The little man was miffed. "Is this an occupational skill or does lying just run in your family? He's my friend. In fact, the only one I have. Recently, he's been perforated like a sieve by a fed. He had to be reanimated, and we don't know if he's still alive as we speak. In my understanding, there is a very urgent need to worry!"

Truth to be told, the agent felt concerned herself. "Sorry, this was just a stupid, commonplace remark. You're right. Let's go! I'll meet you at the hospital."

*** At the hospital ***

Peter's gunshot wound needed surgery. But once they staunched the bleeding, it could be treated without further complications. When the agent woke from anesthesia, El was sitting on a chair next to his bed.

He was still drowsy. Nevertheless, he didn't fail to notice she was on the verge of tears. Peter reached for her hand. "Sorry, hon. I didn't want to upset you."

His wife startled up. "Thank God, you're alive and awake." She squeezed his hand hard.

Elizabeth shared the information about his medical condition the doctor in charge had given her earlier on. "You're lucky! You've suffered a concussion and the shoulder will hurt for a while. Though, you're going to be alright. Jones told me that lousy, mean, detestable psycho has aimed for your heart. Fortunately, he has only hit your shoulder. If he would have ... I mean if you were... I cannot imagine my world without you. Don't do this again to me, ever!"

Recalling the course of events, a shiver ran down agent Burke's spine. "Neal, how is he?"

Caffrey was still undergoing surgery. He was brought into the operation theater 4 hours ago. He had been hit by several bullets and was hurt badly. His liver was injured as well as the right lung and the spleen, causing heavy inner bleeding. Furthermore, the thigh bone was splinted. Worst of all, they couldn't tell yet whether the spinal cord was injured.

Peter closed his eyes, drowning in a wave of despair. If only, he hadn't appointed David Seigel as Neal's handler. If only, he hadn't been so naive when James Bennett's audio message turned up. If only, he had drawn his gun the moment Seigel turned up at the auction house. He wished he could turn back time.

The small group of people was huddled in the waiting room. Conversations had ended hours ago. Now, they were waiting in anxious silence for news from the surgical team. Diana was pacing the room, unable to sit any longer on the uncomfortable chair, massaging her belly gently.

Mozzie was sitting close to June, both of them pale and slumped down. Jones had supervised the crime scene team to make sure evidence was taken with the appropriate accuracy. In the meantime, OPR has taken over the lead. Tomorrow, they would question him, and he'd make his statement. For now, he was holding out in the waiting room, not willing to leave before Caffrey's surgery has been finished.

Finally, the doors to the operation theater slid open. A doctor in scrubs entered the waiting room. "Family of Mr. Caffrey?"

Mozzie sprang to his feet. "How is he? Can I see him?"

The doctor seemed tired; nonetheless, he was observing hospital policies. "You're family? What's your degree of kinship if I may ask?"

Mozzie was indignant at the mere question. "I'm his friend. His oldest and best friend. If you had known his family, you wouldn't be so keen to meet them."

Wrong answer... "Sorry, I understand your anxiety. I'm afraid that according to the regulations I'm authorized to give details about Mr. Caffrey's medical condition only to his family or medical attorney."

There was a perplexed silence in the room until June rose from her chair. "I'm his mother. You can inform me about his state of health."

The doctor was obviously astonished, gawping at her with open mouth. Yet, the old lady looked him straight in the eye, not willing to leave room for doubt.

Finally, the doctor found his tongue. "You're his ... mother? By all appearances, this is a bit surprising ..."

June gave him a lenient smile. "Oh, I see! There's the age difference. Neal's the baby of the family. He came quite late into my life. Nonetheless, I wouldn't want to miss a single day with him."

The doctor couldn't help admiring her chutzpah. What the heck, she seemed to be nice and sincerely concerned about the young man whose life he had just saved.

To every thing there is a season and a purpose. Hospital regulations were meant to protect a patient's privacy. Although, there was an exception to every rule.

So, he decided this was a season for making an exception. "All right. We have moved ... _your_ _son_ ... to our critical care unit. The surgery went well. Under the circumstances, Mr. Caffrey was quite lucky that the spinal cord wasn't injured. We stopped the inner bleeding. Still, it'll take time until the lung will be healed completely. In addition to that, we have to watch the pulmonary artery occlusion pressure to avoid postoperative complications. The hepatic rupture was only superficial, and the liver will regenerate in time. Nevertheless, we had to carry out a splenectomy so we might have to deal with of immunodeficiency."

Jones, June and Diana exchanged baffled looks. Only Mozzie was able to decipher the medical gobbledygook translating the message. "Bottom line is Neal will get over it sooner or later. Certainly, the first weeks will be rough, and we have to ensure that he takes it slow for a while, not overstraining himself."

The doctor nodded in agreement. "Generally speaking, that's correct. Still, we can't rule out a possible brain damage as an aftereffect of his respiratory arrest. The narcotic sleep will take a while to wear off. We'll have to wait at least another day until Mr. Caffrey will be responsive. Then, we'll know the score. I suggest you go home and rest."

Jones went to fill Peter in on the consultant's state of health. The waiting room emptied out, everyone else headed home tired, but full of hope that Neal would recover from his injuries.

*** Sometimes during the next day ***

Neal heard unidentifiable noises far away. Someone called his name. He tried to answer, but wasn't even able to open the eyes. He drifted in and out. He woke again because there was a pressure in his throat, breathing felt strange, though not really painful, only restrictive.

In another wake phase, Caffrey managed to open the eyes for a second. The light was glaring, white. His limbs were heavy as lead. He couldn't possibly move them. He was so tired and couldn't stay awake any longer.

Hours went by, but Neal had no sense of time at all.

"Mr. Caffrey. It's time to come back to us..." Neal felt a soft hand stroking his face.

Then, it got suddenly very chilly; he felt cool air on his skin. There was something ice-cold pressing on his chest, repeatedly. He didn't like it and should really open the eyes to face the situation.

The doctor put the stethoscope away, obviously satisfied with the examination. The nurse covered the patient once again with the blanket. Neal was grateful for the returning warmth.

"Let's give him another hour. The effect of the barbiturates wears off."

*** Later on … ***

"Neal? Come on, it's time to wake up."

Caffrey has had no problems ignoring the other voices earlier on. Then why had Peter this special effect on him? Making it impossible to go back to sleep. Neal couldn't remember what had happened or where he was. For once, he was completely clueless. Yet somehow, when Burke used this tone, he was usually caught doing mischief.

"You can't arrest me for sleeping." Ok, it might have sounded more like _'Ye cnt arresme far sleevn...'_ However, Peter got the message.

The agent relaxed visibly. That was the same cocky Neal Caffrey he had chased and met so many years ago. Crazy yes, par for the course, but there was no sign of brain damage.

"Oh yes, I could. Case law, you know. Right now, I'm willing to turn a blind eye if you're a good boy and answer the questions of the nice lady doctor."

Speaking was easier once Neal has been extubated. He answered all those silly questions they asked to assess his state of mind. Of course, he knew his name. Truth to be told, he knew all of the aliases he had used over the years. Though, Peter stopped him after he had _rasped 'Neal Caffrey'_.

It was 2013. They were in New York. He had been shot. He knew the president's name.

Even more, he remembered he hadn't been allowed to vote. He was alive, but he was a criminal. His situation hasn't improved since the last time he had reflected about it.

The doctor was satisfied by his answers. Though, she made it clear he needed rest and ushered Burke out of the room.

Neal noted with a feeling of relief that the nurse fiddled with the control valve of the intravenous pain medication making the reality yielding to a dreamless sleep.

Next time he woke up, Caffrey was out of intensive care. The dim light of sunrise shone through a window, but the room was still half-dark. So it had to be very early morning.

He spotted a figure on the chair next to his bed. "Peter! You're wearing pajamas. Very stylish ones, if I may say so. I guess El has chosen them... Does the FBI have a new dress code?"

The agent smiled about the cheeky comment. "I had surgery as well, plus a concussion. For the time being, I'm admitted, and my room is down the hall. According to the doctors I will be released within the next couple of days. Tonight, I couldn't sleep anymore. So I came looking after you."

Neal was gloomy. "Keeping tabs on me. Don't worry, I won't run or get up to mischief for a while. You can go back to your room and rest assured."

Burke was irritated by the sudden change of mood, but not really annoyed. "That's not what I've said, or meant though. I figured you might be disorientated when you wake up appreciating a familiar face."

The young man felt a pang of remorse. "Oh." And after a while "Thanks."

A long silence ensued.

Finally, Neal plucked up courage to raise the probing question. "I know what I've done, and that you can't ignore or conceal it. Tell me! When do I have to expect the Marshalls?"

It would be nice to stay here for his recovery, a room with windows, space and daylight instead of the hostile environment of the prison infirmary. Nevertheless, he'd understand if Peter wasn't willing to take another risk.

His friend sighed. "No Marshalls."

Neal didn't dare to bring the meaning of these two words into question.

After a while, Burke went on. "According to the official version, you haven't done anything wrong. Curtis Hagen has committed several crimes after his release on behalf of Andy Crawick. Crawick is an alias used by David Seigel. In the end, Seigel cracked up, killed Hagen. Shortly after, he attempted to kill you and me. Seigel had the gem stones from the auction house on him. Furthermore, they found the rest of the plunder in his room."

Neal shook his head sadly. "I appreciate the effort. But it won't work. Hagen had got incriminating photos from a surveillance camera. There was one on his mobile phone and probably more on his laptop or somewhere in the cloud."

Burke cringed at the thought of what he was going to tell now. "Much to OPR's regret, the mobile was destroyed beyond remedy. When the FBI had finally found Hagen's apartment, there was nothing left inside. Someone had emptied it completely. There's no footage left in the internet either."

He could only guess that Jones was involved in the mobile phone incident. Neither was there any proof, nor did he ask. Most probably, if not certainly, it had been Mozzie who had emptied Hagen's hideout and who had taken care that all existing copies of the photos were erased.

Peter's FBI instincts told him in no uncertain manner that this was wrong. But yet, he didn't mind the unconventional help at all.

"Although, my wife let it be known that, if you should ever decide to pose for the New York City Firefighters Calendar, she wants a signed copy. She maintains the opinion that the fireman gear has looked good on you."

"Wow." Neal was at a loss for words.

He could hardly believe his luck. "But I'm a criminal and you're a federal agent. We've been there before. How should this work out?"

The older man had no perfect answer to this question. "I don't know. I guess we have to try harder. Maybe a bit more trust would be a good start, for both of us."

Caffrey wasn't appeased by this response. "Be honest! Your life would be so much easier without me. For a start, I'm not good for your career. You're risking your job for me, even your life. You could have an easy job as ASAC. No sleepless nights. No CI calling on you at odd times. No responsibility for a stray criminal who is working for you and tends to run into trouble of the worst kind. You could worry about the baseball season instead of me. I'm only causing difficulties, worries and a headache for you. That's what people call a nuisance."

Peter shook his head. "You call it nuisance. For me, it's family. A rose by another name... Yes, you are a criminal; likewise I wouldn't mind a little less trouble. I'm not dumb. I realized those recent crimes you were committing they were intended to rescue me. In the aftermath of your rescue operation you went overboard. Your crimes were never about money or greed. Probably, the challenge to commit them right under the watch of the FBI offered a bit of extra incentive. I guess I'll just have to work harder to keep you on the straight and narrow. But I promise I will never walk out on you."

Caffrey didn't know what to make out of this. "Family? What am I supposed to be? The prodigal son? Black sheep?"

Burke chuckled. "Something along these lines. Although, I was thinking more of a talented, but immature offspring with a serious impulse control disorder."

Now, Neal grinned involuntarily, looking suddenly very young. "Talented? I like that. I can do talented! And when I grow up, I wanna be just like you."

Peter smiled while tousling the younger man's hair affectionately. "So you actually plan to grow up, kiddo? That's good news."

Suddenly he turned serious. "I know you like the thrill of committing a crime. Even worse, you probably don't feel guilty or remorse about all these scams. The risk of doing this under the FBI's watch is only boosting the strong attraction you feel. Nevertheless, there is a limit. It would break my heart if I had to arrest you ... But rest assured, I will do it if you play a double game, going back to your old ways."

Speaking the uncomfortable truth wasn't a simple task; still the agent was aware it had to be done. His voice was thin when he went on. "We, El and I, would be there every visiting day and wait for you on the day of your discharge, but I won't hesitate to send you to prison if I need to."

Caffrey felt at a loss. "I don't know if I can live up to your expectations. I'm a criminal. I've never been anything else. I don't know if can change. Or if I actually want to. I mean really want to change for real, deep down inside."

The older man gave him an intense look, forcing him to look straight in the eye. "Neal. I'm not willing to risk you going back. You're much more than just a criminal. That's not who you are any longer. You're a friend, a partner and an exceptional good consultant. I'm so proud of you and what you've become. I'm paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. I trust you to do right. It's that simple."

Neal would have loved believing this might work. "Hey, even if I'm drugged, I can tell when I'm getting coaxed. Deceiving is an art you haven't mastered yet. Fair enough, I'll give it a try. I do my very best, promise. I just hope it's enough."

Peter reassured him. "It will be. Don't 're not alone in this. There's a full back-up team."

Then he told the injured consultant about his back-up team.

Diana who hadn't made it home the other night from the waiting room, but turned around in the parking lot to enter the labor ward just in time to deliver her baby.

June who had lied to the doctor brazenly to get information about this health state.

Mozzie. Well, no need to talk about Mozzie. Neal probably could work out who had destroyed Hagen's photos.

Jones who had volunteered as Neal's new handler. Plus whatever else he might have done to protect him.

Yet even his own wife who was currently clearing the guest room to host Neal during his convalescence. Whereas, all has not been said and done about this arrangement according to June.

Later on, when Neal was once again alone, he was lost in thoughts. It felt nice having a family, people who actually cared about him. He didn't want to let them down. If Neal Caffrey gives his best, he can achieve anything.

Besides, what the suit didn't know wouldn't hurt him. There would be enough room for a little con every once in a while. Just for the fun of it. And to keep in practice…

**Author's note:**

Thank you for keeping up! All your reviews helped me to complete the story.


End file.
